


The Devil in the Bassist

by Selah



Series: Shinjitsu to Gensou [88]
Category: BORN (Band), Jrock, Nocturnal Bloodlust
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Demon Magic, Demonic Possession, Hell, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Psychological Torture, Supernatural Elements, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 13:26:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16476425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selah/pseuds/Selah
Summary: He should have known it was a deal too good to be true. Now it was too late to back out of it. One mistake after another, Kifumi's life would never be the same.





	The Devil in the Bassist

**Author's Note:**

> timestamp: early 2015-late July 2016  
> So not kidding with the tags, kids. If horror is not your thing, do not read. Yes, it's important to Kifumi's plotline, but still. You won't like it.
> 
> Happy Halloween!

Kifumi tried to do anything. Scream, shout, run away, shift into cat form and run until he was somewhere safe, somewhere sacred. Instead he could only watch in horror as his body moved at the command of another.

 _This wasn't the agreement!_ he screamed in the silence of his own head. The demon laughed in his own voice, turning him down an alley.

“Hey mister, looking for some company?”

Kifumi desperately wanted to warn her to run. Instead, his voice agreed to spend some time with her. And just like last time, he was helpless to keep the demon from slicing her throat, using her blood to call another of his kind. Kifumi wanted to be sick, but he couldn't even do that. He was trapped, a prisoner in his own body, as the demon proceeded to make sure that even if Kifumi ever got control again, his life would never be his again. Two murders so heinous, Kifumi didn't think he could take going to trail, and from the sounds of it, this demon wasn't done yet, either. Kifumi recoiled, surprised to notice his connection to the outside world going fuzzy. He wasn't sure what it meant, but if it meant an escape from seeing what this demon was doing, he would have to be a fool not to take it.

“Ah, ah, ah, no running away now, kitty cat,” the demon inside him sneered in his own voice. Dark claws hooked into his consciousness, pulling him closer to the surface again. Something ... oh god, his hand was in the woman's intestines. Again the urge to puke, but as before, nothing happened ... except that his hand kept playing with blood-slicked guts. He recoiled again, his whole world going dark this time.

~*~*~

Kifumi wasn't sure how long he was out of it. He didn't recognize the room he was in now, though he took some comfort from seeing that he wasn't covered in blood.

“Oh don't worry, I won't let the police get you. We've got too much work to do for that,” the demon crooned in his voice. Kifumi thought he might be sick again, but of course he wasn't in control of anything anymore.

“You're right, where are my manners. You had something you wanted, we really should be trying to get it, yeah? After I get everything I need, that is.”

Pain shot through Kifumi's knee and then again in his chest, and for an impossibly long series of seconds, he wasn't sure he could even breathe. His vision went white, then black, then shot through with red. And then he could have sworn he was in another place, a place of dark storms and heavy chains, broken landscapes and sulfur and the tormented screams of a thousand souls. He tried to scream, too, but nothing happened.

 _Not yet, little kitten_ , a dark voice oozed over him. His entire being tried to recoil away from that voice, that place. His vision went black again and when it cleared he was back in his own apartment.

_What...._

“Just making sure you can't back out on our deal now,” the demon said in his own voice. Kifumi shuddered, not entirely sure he _wanted_ to know what that meant. Couldn't be anything good, he was sure of that much.

“Anyone ever mention you worry too much, buttercup? Now come on, let's go check out this Hiro of yours.”

In a flickering they were across town, standing outside Hiro's apartment. The demon raised his hand to knock on the door and then it was stepping back and Kifumi was in charge of his own body again. As soon as the door opened, he was pushing past his friend to hurry to his bathroom, puking into his toilet.

“Kifumi? What the fuck, man?”

“S-sorry,” he mumbled, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. The demon inside was laughing, it made his skin crawl, but there was nothing left in him to vomit.

“Are you sure you're okay?” Hiro asked, frowning down at him.

“No,” he admitted, pulling himself up to wash his face and hands. “Sorry about pushing in here, but ... hi.”

“Hey, I'd rather you pushed past me than puked on my shoes. Or worse,” Hiro said, laughing lightly. Kifumi wanted so much to just grab him and kiss him, but he knew he couldn't do that, not now.

“... got a toothbrush I can borrow?”

“Uh, no, gross. But I've got one you can have,” his friend said, ruffling his hair before opening the medicine cabinet and handing him a brand new toothbrush, still in its packaging. Stupid how just one little gesture could have him feeling all mushy, like a high school girl with her crush. Then again, Hiro had always been nothing but a sweetheart and a gentleman. Letting him go had been a mistake.

“So I'm guessing food is not why you came over here,” Hiro drawled, leaning against the doorjamb and watching while Kifumi brushed his teeth. As much as he was nearly always hungry, right at that moment he had to agree. And then the demon flashed him the image of that hooker's guts and Kifumi was dry heaving into the toilet again to the sound of maniacal laughter.

“Kifumi!”

He was a cat. When the hell had he turned into a cat?

“Shh, hey man, talk to me, yeah? What's going on?”

Kifumi twitched all over, for the first time in his life silently grateful that he couldn't actually _talk_ in this form. When Hiro picked him up, he huddled himself into his chest.

“Hey, it's me. I know we had plans but, um, Fufu's sick or something. Can you maybe come over here instead? I don't know what's wrong with him, but he's puked twice and now he's a shivering cat, so, yeah....”

_“... yeah, okay, give me a few.”_

Kifumi tried to pull in on himself at the frustration his sharper cat ears picked up over the phone.

_What's this? Oh, is that why you needed help? To take out the competition? Oh I'm going to enjoy this!_

_NO!_

Kifumi froze at the realization that he had actually yowled. How was he even going to begin to explain any of this to either Hiro _or_ Sugizo? This wasn't what he had wanted. He wanted Hiro back for himself, yes, but not ... Sugizo was an archangel! And while Kifumi was a lot of things, suicidal wasn't one of them.

 _“... was that_ him _??”_

“Yeah, I don't ... I don't know, babe, but....”

_“Yeah, no, I'll be right over, see what I can figure out from there.”_

_You worry too much, little kitty cat_ , the dark voice from before crooned, making Kifumi want to crawl out of his own skin. _We're invested in you now, we're not going to let some big, bad archangel ruin that._

Pain raced through him again, leaving him panting and whimpering. And then Hiro was passing him over to someone made of golden light and soothing warmth. Sugizo. Kifumi let himself go limp in the angel's arms as he closed his eyes. He didn't even know anymore what he wanted, except for the pain to stop.

“Shh, it's all right, Kifumi-kun, I've got you, just breathe.”

A low whimper as he weakly nuzzled against the angel. Maybe ... maybe when he opened them again, this would all have been nothing more than a bad dream? That would be nice....

~*~*~

How long had things been like this? A world made of pain and darkness with only bare flashes of the life he remembered, that felt little more than a dream now.

_Stop being such a pathetic baby and maybe I'll let you see him again._

Kifumi had no idea what that meant ... until the veil of pain lifted and he could breath freely again. Looking around, he was actually surprised when his body moved at his command. Was this a dream? It looked like Tokyo ... but that didn't mean it actually was. Kifumi took a deep breath. Definitely smelled real ... but then he'd had that thought before, too, hadn't he?

“... Kifumi?”

“Hiro....”

“Fucking hell, man, where the fuck have you even been? And why haven't you been answering my calls??”

“I....”

His throat closed before he could say anything else. What could he say? He had no idea what day it even was, what month, what year. How long had the demons been in control this time? And what had they done with his body while they had kept him locked away inside his own head?

“You look like shit. Come on up and I'll make us something to eat.”

“Okay,” he said, at a loss for anything else. Maybe ... maybe it hadn't been that long this time? He followed Hiro up to his friend's building, taking a cautious sniff. Hiro smelled like he remembered, with the faint hint of his bandmates. Another subtle sniff as they stepped into the apartment, but that, too, smelled the same. It wasn't strong or anything, but enough that he could tell Hiro and Sugizo were still together, if not yet living together. He swallowed against a lump in his throat. Setting them up had been the worst mistake of his life.

“We were really worried about you, you know,” Hiro said, pushing Kifumi to sit on his couch.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, glancing around, trying to get his bearings. Was it months this time or just weeks? “How's senpai?”

“Working too much. Again. I guess I shouldn't complain, cuz God knows I do it, too, but ... sometimes I just want to punch that pompous ass Yoshiki right in the jaw, you know?”

Kifumi bit his lip as the scent of Hiro's anger, no _rage_ , hit his nose. That was ... more than a little disturbing. Unsettling, even, Sure, Hiro had always been a little prone to a fiery temper, but not like _that_. What the hell had he been missing?

“Take tonight. Supposed to be a date night. Until I get a call from him an hour ago saying sorry, he has to work late, but he'll make it up to me later. And you know the worst thing? He actually means it. It won't happen, it can't, but he thinks ... he thinks he can just make it up to me, no big deal.”

“You know, it's not easy for him,” Kifumi ventured, wary he was about to really put his foot in it.

“He's a fucking angel!”

“Sure, but he's still in, what, three bands? I've only ever been in one at a time myself, so I can only imagine how hard it has to be for him,” Kifumi said, toying with a bit of paper. Fuda. When had that ... _how_ had that suddenly leaped into his hands? He quickly shoved it into his pocket, not wanting to look at it any closer, not wanting to know what it had been meant to do. Later. He'd look at it later. Maybe.

“Are you actually taking his side??” Hiro growled, rage scent suddenly towering over him and Kifumi couldn't help shrinking back. A tactical error, he realized too late, as one of the demons slid forward into his place at the head of the body.

“Of course not,” the demon said with his mouth, his voice. “But hey, look at it this way: now you and I can have a night together, just the two of us.”

It bothered him how much it sounded like something he would have said in this situation. It bothered him even more how easily Hiro let himself be pulled down into a hungry kiss he could only faintly feel himself.

“Kifumi....”

“You have needs, yeah? He doesn't have to know....”

A little moan and Hiro was pushing Kifumi into the back of the couch, kissing him again with a familiar hunger. This was what he had wanted for so long and yet now that he hat it, all he could feel was sick and dirty.

 _How ungrateful_ , the demon snarled, pushing him further away from his own senses. _Guess you don't get him after all, you little shit. Oh I'm going to enjoy this...._

Kifumi struggled to take back control, but it was too late. And deep in his heart, he cried in fear that the next time he was allowed out, he would find himself covered in Hiro's blood.

~*~*~

A cold wind blew past him, startling Kifumi into the realization that he was back in control of his own body. Months, it had to be months this time, if not longer, and yet he could feel tears of relief streaming down his cheeks. Maybe ... maybe they were gone this time?

_Don't be ridiculous. But a deal's a deal._

Looking around, Kifumi frowned at the unfamiliar neighborhood. And then his body was moving for him, taking him to an unfamiliar apartment and knocking on the door. And when Hiro answered it, all he could think to do was throw himself at the man, a sob of relief catching in his throat.

“Fufu....”

“I'm sorry,” he mumbled, clinging to him and feeling an idiot for it. “I'm so, so sorry.”

“I ... how? Fuck....”

Hiro pulled him inside and Kifumi didn't argue. And when Hiro kissed him again, hard and angry and yet desperately sad, Kifumi just went with it, too relieved to see his best friend was still alive to even question it. Hands tugged at clothes as he kept kissing Hiro, hungry for more.

“Kifumi,” Hiro gasped, cupping his ass with both hands. Kifumi groaned, pressing close and rocking against that deliciously hard body. Some tiny shred of conscience was trying to insist this was wrong, but Hiro was so obviously into it, how could he stop? He didn't _want_ to stop, curling fingers around Hiro's hardening cock and stroking him, almost purring at the feel of him in his hand again.

“Fuck me,” he mumbled. “Please.”

With a strangely strangled whimper, Hiro tore off the last of Kifumi's clothes before picking him up and practically throwing him onto his bed. Their tryst was rushed, a desperate fucking that barely sated anything. Kifumi wanted more, but Hiro was sobbing into his pillow. He didn't know why, was more than a little afraid to ask, so he stayed silent, curling around the taller man as best he could and offering his silent support. He didn't know what else he could do. But maybe ... maybe the demons were finally finished with him? He didn't know what all had happened in his missing time, he didn't really care as long as it meant the deal was finally finished. As long as he could just stay here with Hiro forever, he wouldn't care about anything else.

~*~*~

Kifumi woke in the sulfur place again, his own little corner of Hell. Heavy chains that burned his skin held him off the ground, he could smell his own flesh burning. He tried to vomit, but as usual nothing happened.

“Hope you enjoyed it while you could, little kitten.”

“Wh- ... why am I here again?” he gasped, pain searing through his arms as the chains shifted against bare skin, finding new places to burn him.

“Oh we're not done with you, little kitten,” the shapeless dark purred, a sickening feeling twisting in Kifumi's guts. “You wanted him to be only yours, didn't you? Well, there's been some complications with that. You're just going to have to wait longer.

“No ... no, I don't ... please, just let me go....”

“A deal's a deal, kitty cat,” his tormentor drawled, shifting the chains yet again. Kifumi screamed as the pain got worse. This wasn't what he wanted, not even close. With his ancestors as his witness, he would do anything to end this, to put things back the way they had been.

“Oh there's no going back, little kitty cat. Unless you _want_ the police finding out about all those prostitutes you've murdered and dismembered.”

“But I didn't ... you said they wouldn't,” he stammered, gasping at a fresh wave of pain.

“You really should have read the fine print.”

Not even his tears could cool the burning heat he was feeling. It wasn't real, this was all happening inside his own head, or maybe on some other plane of reality entirely, but it _felt_ real. Smelled real, tasted real. Sulfur and burning flesh and the echoed screams of thousands. He couldn't hold it in any longer, his own screams joining those of the damned.

~*~*~

They say there's a limit to how much pain a body can take. Perhaps in the physical world that was true, but wherever Kifumi was now, it wasn't the physical world. The burning never truly stopped, he was starting to get numb to it, to the smell of his own charred flesh. The sickening way it would eventually slough off his limbs, exposing impossibly white bone, only to painfully grow back over the following day and night, as best he could reckon such things. Time had warped in his head, he wasn't sure anymore just how long he had been here, Weeks? Months? Years? He no longer knew, no longer knew if it even mattered.

Bright white light sliced through the dull oranges and shadowed reds, a cool contrast to the smoldering all around him. Kifumi hissed as the light touched him, cold as ice. The chains abruptly broke and he was falling, falling, falling, his body falling to pieces with it. Was this the end then? If so, he was ready to welcome oblivion.

**Author's Note:**

> With tomorrow being the start of NaNo, there probably won't be another fic out of me until the very end of November or maybe not until December. Sorry!  
> If you'd like to keep up with what I'm doing, consider joining me on [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/yuuana) for NaNo status updates, early access to projects, and more~


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